Tuesday, August 20, 2013

We have moved into our new home at http://patinahomeandgarden.net

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

There is only one Chalk Paint®

Just clearing up the confusion:


Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Chalk Paint® decorative paint "Tranforms" Furniture!


I recently started a new plan in March for my blog.  I am so crazy busy with kids, a non profit, paint deliveries and my love for working in Eco Chic Home, I came up with an idea to share the love of Chalk Paint® with my customers from other bloggers, too.  I really enjoy reading customer stories, before and after photos, and hearing what other bloggers are up to.  I'm starting off a feature series with other bloggers and would like to introduce you all to Pam at Thrifty Cottage Couture.  Not only is she beautiful, but her work is amazing.  I'm sure you will all agree!


About Pam from Thrifty Cottage Couture:

Do you blog?  I have recently started mine, but with three small kiddos at home and this little business I just started growing the blog is pretty neglected :( I mostly update my facebook page as a way to keep folks in the loop.  (You can find her here on Facebook:  Thrifty Cottage Couture)

How long have you been painting furniture?  I started painting furniture almost exactly one year ago this past January. I had painted a few pieces here and there using latex paint, and was posting pictures to my personal facebook account when all my friends really started encouraging me to seriously think about starting a little business. I liked the idea that I could do it from my home since I am a stay at home mom. One of them introduced me to Miss Mustard Seed's blog, and the rest is history. 

How long have you been using Chalk Paint®?  I purchased my first can of Annie's Chalk Paint® in Old White and painted some dining room chairs.  I was HOOKED. I have used Chalk Paint® ever since. So pretty much all my pieces since last January have been painted with Annie's paint in some form or another. Glass, brass, wood, metal, veneer I have covered it all. I love the challenge of a piece and it is exhilarating to see it successfully finished!


Did you start by taking a workshop or just went for it?  I haven't had the opportunity to attend a workshop yet since there really isn't one close to me. I've learned all the tricks by watching Miss Mustard Seed & Perfectly Imperfect's online videos and by just being brave and going for it. And now that pinterest and facebook is booming I love checking out all your posts for great tips and inspiration. You have such wonderful taste!

Why do you like Chalk Paint®?  I use Chalk Paint® because it is simply so amazing to work with. I absolutely LOVE that I don't need to sand or prime. And since I don't have to do all that sanding and priming I have WAY more time for the part I really enjoy, distressing, waxing, and color washing, and layering! I just love staring at a newly painting piece and thinking about how I can really start the transformation!! I also absolutely love the freedom Chalk Paint® gives for mixing custom colors. You really can't go wrong. And the fact that you can pretty much blend any color you can dream up is a bonus!

Tell me a little about the pieces you painted, where they came from, and any details of them.  You are going to flip when I tell you about these two pieces. I purchased the dresser on Craigslist for $30. They were so worried I wouldn't take it because they accidentally bleached the top cleaning it up before I arrived. I couldn't believe all the details and knew it was a perfect piece for what I like to do with Annie's paint. I stared at this one for about a week just because the possibilities were endless. One day it all fell into place and I picked up my brush and started painting away. I ended up using Paris Grey, Old Ochre, and Old White. This is probably my favorite color combination. It's just so warm, and yet still very light and airy. I did have to remove some veneer so I blended a Annie's Emperor's Silk and Antibes Green to make a custom brown so that when I distressed later the under layer matched all around. I find that if I stain underneath the paint sometimes it bleeds through so this was the solution I came up with. Works like a charm! Then I lightly sanded all the details and edges so they would pop a bit and I finished it all off with Annie's Clear Soft Wax.


a before of the dresser...


I think this is one of the prettiest dressers I've seen
with Chalk Paint®.  Really amazing work, Pam!




The curved curio was actually FREE!! It was given to a friend of mine and they didn't like the style so they sent it my way. Thank goodness! I really love pieces with lots of character to begin with. It is so much fun to bring out some of the lost details! I painted this beauty with Annie's paint in Cream & Old White, and made a custom blend for the interior of Paris Grey, Old White, Provence, and Louis Blue. It really looks quite a bit like Old Violet...I lightly sanded all the edges with 200 grit sandpaper and finished up with clear wax.
the FREE curio before...



Friday, February 8, 2013

Chalk Paint® decorative paint by Annie Sloan & the good ol' outdoors!

Chalk Paint® has so many uses and I tell my workshop
attendees to never, ever use Annie Sloan Wax as
an outdoor finish.  I don't protect anything I paint
outdoors, but at times I will lightly sand them with 
600+ grit sandpaper to burnish and protect from scratches
if it's a flat surface.

Here is a metal table I painted in Antibes Green,
distressed and left as is.  It was one of the
first things I painted in the summer of 2011.



Some outdoor signs I created for a local farmers' 
market, all with Chalk Paint® on old barn redwood
 

This is customer, Kristel's, previously aged and
rusty brown metal patio chair set she
painted with Graphite and lightly burnished
with 600 grit sandpaper


Another outdoor customer project from one of
my workshop attendees, Karla.  Her project
was done with Chateau Grey and Arles on the side table.


Here's a peek of my garden shed
done in Olive and Old White, painted in June 2011


One of my campers, Emily, from this summer did this
outdoor Chalk Paint® project in Country
Grey.  She is13!  See little Ross peeking through 
the table?  He is the sibling to our Cavalier, Ivy!


Remember NO wax outdoors.  It doesn't do well with heat
and temperature changes.  Any moisture will trap itself under
the paint and create bubbling, but the paint alone will
not chip or flake like latex does and is a perfect
makeover for your outdoor furniture!  I see no need
to ever put a poly or lacquer finish over this paint 
for outdoors.  We really get caught up with the
need to "protect" everything here in the U.S. but
Chalk Paint® is really a durable finish by itself.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Confessions of a Collector




I love to collect all things vintage.  I have long been a fan of white ironstone and USA's vintage line of pottery.  It all started with a vase that I took with me when I left home at 19 and it's continued on.  I don't actively look, but when I come across something I love, I buy it.  I come from a long line of collectors, the best being my grandfather who has a McCoy collection that would take your breath away.  We just recently saw it when we were visiting in Ohio and even my teenage girls were enamored by it.  

My latest fix is Italian and French canning jars.  I've been able to find them in my travels delivering paint in the east bay for about $2-$4 per jar.  Last year it was old Baby Ben clocks, working or not.


This stair wall that has taunted me for years because two years ago, I painted it with what was left over of one of the "all in one" latex primer and paint formulas.  It was awful and blotchy and why I lived so long looking at that wall when I could have just painted it over, you got me.  It took me all of 26 minutes to pull out my pot of Chalk Paint® in Old White, a roller and a blended fiber paint brush and get at it.  Here is the wall before.  

Thanks to Annie Sloan, I have learned to accept imperfection.  As a painting contractor, my results must be perfect, lines have to be straight, finishes must be blended, but I've grown into this imperfect soul now.  Enjoy this photo from my Annie Sloan fellow "stockist bff," Deborah Cooper-Ramos that she proudly displays on her workshop wall…"Beauty in Imperfection" by Annie Sloan.  I struggled with making the frames sit perfectly on my wall and then I just let go because there IS beauty in imperfection.  This is the workshop wall at Peinture in Costa Mesa, CA:



Here is my wall after, proudly displaying my collection of graphite sketches I'm so in love with right now.  I make paint deliveries twice a week to the bay area and recently stopped by a consignment store and scored two sketchings by an artist out of Oakland.  Apparently, she recently died and suffered from dementia.  I was honored to display two of her sketches on my wall, both still life.  Do you collect?  What do you collect and where do you go to find your collections?









Sunday, November 18, 2012

Noel - A Vintage Holiday Market


This weekend, I had the utmost pleasure of being
invited as a vendor to Noel - A Vintage Market by Sandy Bryan of
The Olive and Rose.  Her shows have been seen in
Romantic Homes Magazine and Flea Market Style. 
She puts on an amazing Mes Amis series that 
I was blessed to do last summer with Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan. 

Sandy KNOWS how to put on a show.  Think Friday night and
it's raining outside, though inside is cozy and decked
out for the holidays inside Beatnik Studios, on 17th Street
in Sacramento.  Its' stunning exposed brick walls
made for a beautiful backdrop for all of the vintage
finds we brought.  I enjoyed talking with the owner, Lindsey,
about the sandblasting of the walls to prepare the 
studio for shows.  It's amazing. 


Here's the "Chicken Farmer" aka Alexis Koefoed of Soul Food 
Farm helping me offload the trailer.  I took my workshop
tables, a perfect "market" display piece, the excellent mix
 of aged and functional!  I was grateful for her help this weekend,
I couldn't have done it without her.  She contributed
some amazing European pieces.  

I brought Vintage by Nina and Vintage by Nina Christmas
books. The Christmas books sold out within 20 minutes!



 we really worked hard setting up...


Sandy made sure there were plenty of beverages on hand
and invited Mast Coffee Co. to come for all
the caffeine I could drink and delicious pastries to satisfy any hunger
throughout the market!  Saturday morning, Mast Coffee Co.
made the most amazing breakfast for me, a croissant with
Pancetta, egg, and goat cheese.  Delish.  Seriously.


and the live MUSIC.  WOW.  This is Derek Thomas.
He entertained us on Friday evening with his amazing
voice and style.  You can find him here.

photo taken from Facebook - Music by Derek
After doing a little research, I find he is a part of the group
Thomas & Plecker.  I thought he was familiar - I first
heard their live music in Folsom at a party at Not Too Shabby!


Sandy got an amazing rate at the Citizen's Hotel.

Seriously.  I love me some Joie de Vivre hotels.
Not sure what cities these are in, but every one
I've stayed at in San Francisco has been top notch.

The decor is stunning.  This is the Chicken Farmer
after we finished setting up the space and checked into 
the Citizen to get ready for the big night.

I'm so in trouble for this:

I assure you, it was a fast face plant 
because she was up in seconds getting ready.

This pic was taken about 3 minutes after we emerged
from the bathroom with my hot glue gun.
Can you say wardrobe malfunctions?  Yes,
that's with an s...BOTH of us!!
I now have an amazing Anthropologie dress
with hot glued straps.  Apparently they 
didn't realize that being a floozie was not a
planned part of my weekend!  




I made LOTS of new friends and was blessed by many of my 
Facebook fans, that really made my day!  Grateful for my life
and for the pleasure to be doing what I love.


Thursday, November 1, 2012

In the Mix Boutique

My friend, Darci, owner of a hot new designer boutique opening in 
Vacaville asked me to help with the design.  This boutique 
is going to be HOPPING...grand opening party on November 10th!

Here you will find denim, my personal favorite handbag line Big Buddha, and
really awesome jewelry.  It all can be found at 

In the Mix boutique
11B Town Square Place,
Vacaville, California


My job was to transform this beast into a beauty.
Here it is in it's three stages: before, Provence/Old White and Coco
and metallic glaze (inside case), then with wax:


Darci needed some help with ideas for the denim tables.
The previous tops matched the blonde wood of
the display case and it just wasn't going to work out.

I am a huge fan of reclaimed planks and thought it would be just 
what was needed to add a touch of charm to the scrolly iron feet.
Well, Josh and Darci struggled finding dense reclaimed wood
planks after trips all over to salvage yards and then I get a text with this photo:


even the pupster likes it and you can tell by Josh's smile that they
SCORED on this 1800's slat conveyor from an old shirt manufacturing company in New York City:


and here it is in it's glory, ready to be adorned by the finest denim available!


I changed up some of the shadow boxes from blah silver
using a Chalk Paint® decorative paint in Aubusson Blue and Annie Sloan Dark 
Wax glaze topped with some Provence colored Clear Wax to accent:


My Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint dresser in it's new 
location at In the Mix!


and here's the new station ready for business:


and just because I KNOW you want to shop, here's a link
to the Facebook page to keep you updated


with a coupon JUST for you: